MOSCOW: Some 70 Russian competitors from the country’s depleted Olympics team flew out from Moscow for Rio on Thursday as sports federations whittled down the number of athletes allowed to take part.
Dressed in red and white sports uniforms the Olympic hopefuls — including Russia’s volleyball, handball and synchronized swimming squads — received a warm send-off despite the scandal over state-run doping that has seen over 100 competitors banned.
“They have got us fired up — but in a good way. We are going to fight more to prove that it is difficult to break Russia,” handball player Polina Kuznetsova said.
“We will fight for those who were not able to go.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sparked fierce criticism from outside Russia on Sunday when it resisted a blanket ban on the country in favor of allowing individual sports federations to make the call on which Russians can go to Rio.
International sports federations are now scrambling to vet Russian athletes as time ticks down to the start of the Games on August 5.
“We anxiously waited for this day, we worried. You know yourselves what the situation is,” Alexander Zhukov, the head of Russia’s Olympic Committee was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.
“It is now time to put all doubts aside: the Russian team is going to the Olympics.”
Some Russian competitors are already in Brazil acclimatising to the conditions but despite Thursday’s triumphal farewell it remains unclear how many of the 387-strong squad Moscow named last week will eventually compete.
The track and field team — including stars Yelena Isinbayeva and Sergey Shubenkov — has been banned en masse and now rowers, swimmers, weightlifters and canoeists have been added to the list.
Zhukov said that less than 100 Russian competitors were still waiting to find out their fates and that the final makeup of the team should be announced over the weekend just a few days before the start of the Games.
The latest doping scandal to rock Olympic and Russian sport was triggered this month by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren whose report for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) detailed an elaborate doping system directed by the Moscow sports ministry and used in more than 30 sports over four years.
Meanwhile, the Russia’s Olympic committee (ROC) has removed three cyclists from the team heading to the Rio Games while three more, who were potentially implicated in the McLaren report, are under investigation, the UCI announced on Thursday.
The trio withdrawn by the ROC had previously been sanctioned for anti-doping violations, which meant they failed to meet the eligibility criteria put in place for Russian athletes by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“The UCI is in the process of identifying relevant rider samples and is in close dialogue with WADA to move forward with these cases immediately,” a UCI statement read.
“It has also passed the names of these three athletes to the IOC in the context of its Executive Board decision.”
The UCI statement added: “In addition, the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) has carried out a careful assessment on the other 11 riders named by the ROC to participate in Rio 2016 cycling events.”
The latest doping scandal to rock Olympic and Russian sport was triggered this month by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren whose report for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) detailed an elaborate doping system directed by the Moscow sports ministry and used in more than 30 sports over four years.
The IOC sparked fierce criticism on Sunday when it resisted a blanket ban on the country in favor of allowing individual sports federations to make the call on which Russians can go to Rio.
The UCI decision takes the number of Russian athletes suspended from Rio to 111 of the 387 initially announced by the ROC.
Dressed in red and white sports uniforms the Olympic hopefuls — including Russia’s volleyball, handball and synchronized swimming squads — received a warm send-off despite the scandal over state-run doping that has seen over 100 competitors banned.
“They have got us fired up — but in a good way. We are going to fight more to prove that it is difficult to break Russia,” handball player Polina Kuznetsova said.
“We will fight for those who were not able to go.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sparked fierce criticism from outside Russia on Sunday when it resisted a blanket ban on the country in favor of allowing individual sports federations to make the call on which Russians can go to Rio.
International sports federations are now scrambling to vet Russian athletes as time ticks down to the start of the Games on August 5.
“We anxiously waited for this day, we worried. You know yourselves what the situation is,” Alexander Zhukov, the head of Russia’s Olympic Committee was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.
“It is now time to put all doubts aside: the Russian team is going to the Olympics.”
Some Russian competitors are already in Brazil acclimatising to the conditions but despite Thursday’s triumphal farewell it remains unclear how many of the 387-strong squad Moscow named last week will eventually compete.
The track and field team — including stars Yelena Isinbayeva and Sergey Shubenkov — has been banned en masse and now rowers, swimmers, weightlifters and canoeists have been added to the list.
Zhukov said that less than 100 Russian competitors were still waiting to find out their fates and that the final makeup of the team should be announced over the weekend just a few days before the start of the Games.
The latest doping scandal to rock Olympic and Russian sport was triggered this month by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren whose report for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) detailed an elaborate doping system directed by the Moscow sports ministry and used in more than 30 sports over four years.
Meanwhile, the Russia’s Olympic committee (ROC) has removed three cyclists from the team heading to the Rio Games while three more, who were potentially implicated in the McLaren report, are under investigation, the UCI announced on Thursday.
The trio withdrawn by the ROC had previously been sanctioned for anti-doping violations, which meant they failed to meet the eligibility criteria put in place for Russian athletes by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“The UCI is in the process of identifying relevant rider samples and is in close dialogue with WADA to move forward with these cases immediately,” a UCI statement read.
“It has also passed the names of these three athletes to the IOC in the context of its Executive Board decision.”
The UCI statement added: “In addition, the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) has carried out a careful assessment on the other 11 riders named by the ROC to participate in Rio 2016 cycling events.”
The latest doping scandal to rock Olympic and Russian sport was triggered this month by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren whose report for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) detailed an elaborate doping system directed by the Moscow sports ministry and used in more than 30 sports over four years.
The IOC sparked fierce criticism on Sunday when it resisted a blanket ban on the country in favor of allowing individual sports federations to make the call on which Russians can go to Rio.
The UCI decision takes the number of Russian athletes suspended from Rio to 111 of the 387 initially announced by the ROC.
